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At least five people in the Houston area are presumed drowned since Friday, partly because of large crowds and stronger-than-usual tides over the holiday weekend.

Three people went missing at the San Luis Pass, considered one of the most dangerous places to swim in the Houston area because of its strong currents and changing bottom. Large signs loom near the shore on the western tip of Galveston Island warning, "No swimming. Dangerous currents."

The U.S. Coast Guard and other local agencies were still searching the pass Sunday for a Missouri City father and his 10-year-old son. While swimming on the Brazoria County side of the San Luis Pass, the child called out for help after getting caught in a rip tide, and his 48-year-old father ran into the water after the boy.

The family told investigators that they lost sight of both the father and his child. Helicopters and a rescue boat searched for the pair Sunday.

On Saturday, a search was suspended for an 18-year-old League City man who went missing while swimming off the Galveston side of the pass the day before.

A friend told officials they were overtaken by a large wave and Chris Jackson never resurfaced, prompting an unsuccessful 22-hour search.

The island has been packed for Memorial Day weekend. The crowds, along with stronger tides, may have contributed to the unusual number of the drownings this weekend.

Over the years, many have drowned in the area near the San Luis Pass after ignoring the warning signs and a city ordinance prohibiting swimming there, leading officials to install a camera to monitor people attempting to swim. This year, the camera is not active. Officials have said most drownings at beaches occur 30 feet from the shore among victims who are poor swimmers.

No lifeguards monitor the public beaches stretching from the west end of the Seawall to San Luis Pass, except periodic patrols from Memorial Day through Labor Day weekends.

Tragic holiday outings

Megan Spade, 16, of Cleveland died in the hospital Sunday morning after being pulled out of a Cleveland pond during a family outing this weekend.

Around 5 p.m. Saturday, Spade and her family were at a pond in North Liberty County near FM 3747, a common area for neighborhood families to gather near the South Crossing subdivision. She and her siblings were swimming in the pond when Spade went under the water, officials said.

Her grandfather noticed she went under and pulled her out. He performed CPR on her until Liberty County Sheriff's Office deputies arrived and took over, officials said. She was on life support throughout the night.

A fifth victim, 62-year-old Badreddin Nikoui of Missouri City, drowned around 5:30 p.m. Sunday on Lake Conroe. He jumped into the water from a pontoon boat about 30 yards from shore, according to investigators. The boat drifted away and rescue attempts failed, officials said.

16 drownings this year

The three separate incidents prompted experts to remind families that drowning is the leading cause of accidental death for children under the age of 5 and the peak season for drowning is in summer months.

So far this year - not including the most recent incidents - there have been 16 child drownings in Texas, six of which were in Harris County, according to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services data. At the end of May last year, there were 18 drownings statewide, half of which were in Harris County.

Roughly 70 children drown each year in Texas.

Kristine Meyerson, association director of aquatics at the YMCA of Houston, said local statistics show the Houston area has a drowning almost every other day during the summer months. She contributes it to the region's heat and geography.

"We are a warm weather climate on the coast," Meyerson said. "We have beaches and we have lots of swimming pools."

The YMCA launched an awareness campaign this month to lower the number of drownings as the summer season starts. Meyerson encouraged "layers of protection" between children and water, like gates and pool alarms, and always assigning a person to watch children in the water.